Aoi Yakusoku
by Soujirouka
Summary: Chikane and Himeko have been best friends and together for a long time, and that day on a hill, a promise was made. A promise between two hearts, with the blue flowers as witnesses...but Chikane believes her feelings might break the promise she made that day, and change their relationship forever...
1. Chapter 1

Kannazuki no Miko and all of its related characters, places, etc., are copyright to...whomever actually owns them...which is not me. Sadly.

_**"We often confuse what we wish for with what it is." **_~Neil Gaiman

"Ah! Himeko-chan, wait up!" *_pant pant_*

_The strong morning sun shone down upon the verdant forest warmly. Its vibrant rays cast shadowed shapes through the canopy if the treetops, gently cradled by the summer wind…_

"Hurry Chi-chan! Hurry!" _The blonde-haired girl called back down the dirt path to her friend who was following behind her._

_"How can you be so full of energy _all _the time, and be so impatient?" Her blue-haired companion wondered aloud to herself in a shaky voice, her breaths coming in huffed bursts from trying to keep up with the girl ahead of her. _"Hai, Hai I'm coming." _She called up the forest road back to her friend._

_The excited girl ahead of her waited just long enough for her friend to catch up, then took her by the hand happily, and half-led-half-carried her the rest of the way up the old shaded path they had traveled together so many times before_. _Just as the noon sun was reaching its apex point in the brilliant blue sky, the two girls burst out from under the cover of the trees and into the flowing sunlight, onto a great open hilltop. The hillside shimmered magnificently with its newly bloomed blue flowers reaching as far as one could see, and the sun shining radiantly on the last of the dewdrops made the entire world sparkle like a cerulean tide washing over the landscape. They caught their breath, and the two girls gazed lovingly over the scenery of their special hideaway spot, their hand still linked together as if it were second-nature to them. This was their place._

"Ah, look Chi-chan! It's so pretty! Don't you just love it?" _the blonde exclaimed, her face lighting up in joy as if she had discovered a lost treasure. She thrust her face eagerly in front of her noticeably cooler-headed counterpart's, just inches away and practically bouncing with happiness._

_The girl with long, azure hair smiled at her jubilant friend softly, then turned her head and gazed over the expanse of indigo petals layering the valley. _"Yes, it is beautiful. But why are you so super-excited?" _'It's not like we haven't been here and seen it hundreds of times before.' The bluenette girl thought fondly. It was just then that she realized that her bubbly friend had released her grip on her hand, and was hiding both of her own behind her back, grinning secretively like the 7-year old that she was._

"Because Chi-chan! I have a surprise!" _ She said this as if it was Christmas-Eve and she was giving her best friend the greatest gift in the world, although it was just turning summer, and the spring blossoms had just begun bursting into full bloom. The 'gift' part of her excitement was not too far from the truth, unknown though to her blue-haired friend. _"Mm?" _The other girl looked back at her friend, tilting her head slightly in question, quite intrigued by the girl's exclamation. _"What for? Is today supposed to be special or something?" _She asked aloud, slightly confused about what she could have possibly forgotten that her other seemed to remember, but thoroughly curious to see why her best friend was acting so delighted._

"Ou-, you haven't forgotten what today is have you Chi-chan?" _The girl asked with a playful pout on her face._

"Er…I-well…um…" _Was all the blue-haired girl could manage to say. She knew that her friend wasn't actually upset—it took a lot to get her in even the slightest of unhappy moods—but nevertheless; she was beginning to feel uncertain and a bit guilty of the fact that she seemed to have forgotten a special day that her friend seemed so enthusiastic about. The blonde smiled back at her though._

"It's okay, but do you really not remember? Today is the day that we became best friends!" _She said with the brightest smile Chikane had ever seen. _

"Hmm," _a gentle and warming smile forced its way into the girl's face upon the realization. She remembered. _"Of course I remember silly. It's important to me too." _Her mind began reeling backward flooding with fondest memories of when she had first met her blonde-haired friend three years ago. After a meeting seemingly fabricated through Fate's whims, the two girls had bonded the instance they saw each other, and at the end of the day, as the sun set nostalgically into the mountains, they had sat upon the very same hill that she was now relaxing on. Himeko had turned to her with the same sort of vigor she had this day, a pressed an electric-blue ribbon into her hand. 'This is a promise that we'll always be best friends forever and ever, Right Chi-chan?'_

_Chikane smiled inwardly; Himeko had picked up a nickname for her right off the bat, even though they had barely just met. But she liked that about her. She had grown to love almost everything about her best friend, from her sunny demeanor to her precious kindness. Yes, Chikane loved a lot of things about Himeko…a lot of things…_

* * *

_*BRRINNNNG BRRINNNNG!*_

Chikane's alarm went off again unwelcomed, albeit expectedly. As her vision abruptly terminated in her mind, she fidgeted underneath the warm comforter of her bed, not wanting to open her eyes and have to get up and leave her room. Not that she wasn't a morning person exactly, in fact she enjoyed many parts of the morning's embrace; the newborn sun rays through the window, the prospect of an entirely new day. No…there was another reason she had been uncomfortable waking up in recent weeks.

Because she would have to face Himeko again today.

Chikane pulled the cover from over her head and let the light flow on her face. Realizing that the day was not going to wait for her, and that reality wasn't going to suddenly start playing fair, she drew herself from her bed and stood up, stretching slowly. She did so gracefully, with an air of sensual calmness about her, because that just seemed the kind of atmosphere she put off. She could always be seen very at peace with her surrounding and a becoming presence in any room. She paced over to her dresser in her nightgown, a silky light purple color that complimented her frame extremely well, although she cared far less about her fashion sense than others might have guessed. As she removed the garment from her waking body, her mirror was granted full access to her lithe figure as she dressed. Her body was toned for a seventeen-year old, no doubt from her participation on the school's swim team for the past three years, a hobby she was passionate about and dedicated to. Although she never gave it much thought herself, her body was, at the very least, _highly_ desirable, and at the most, downright enviable. As far as her "feminine charms" were concerned, she was beautiful in her flattering slender figure. However; her consciousness began to flow from this thought to another, and soon enough she found herself comparing her reflected form to that of her best friend. She wondered to herself this morning, like she did occasionally, how on earth Himeko had matured so much and so quickly over the past years she had known her…but that was a huge mistake.

Questionable reveries began flowing through her mind—thoughts not typically partaken in by best friends. Images of her childhood friend's now _very_ grown up body flooded any idle sector of her thoughts, making her head swim and she had to sit down on her bed again to force her heart to stop berating her ribcage.

_Himeko-chan's long fair-colored hair…her eyes, her gorgeous eyes…her soft skin on her shoulders…on her legs…even softer places…places even bette—_

_"No! No this is wrong!" _she scolded herself mentally._ "Get a grip Chikane Himemiya, control yourself! Stop your perverted fantasies! It's—it's Himeko…" _she battled against herself in her mind, but all the while her imagination and body continued to stir.

_"But why is it wrong?" a_ different voice from inside her piped in._ "What's wrong with just imagining anything? It can't hurt anyone…in fact, you know it's so go—_

_"STOP STOP STOP!" _she raged at the inner voice trying to compel her to such thoughts.

After a few moments of that, she was somewhat settled although her heart rate was still far quicker and throbbing harder than she would care for. A few weeks ago this wouldn't have been a real issue for Chikane, but with her best friend sleeping in the other room just down the hall? She was wearing down.

* * *

This started floating around about the same time as my first story which, I apologize, has not been updated in a bit; however, I wanted to write this down and get it out there for a little change. Just tell what you think guys. Thanks.

Make peace

/Souji/


	2. Chapter 2

_**"Because what's worse than knowing you want something, besides knowing you can never have it?" **_

_ ~The Angel Experiment_

It was a bit unexpected that day, but Chikane had lived alone for a while, and she had more room and more than enough to care for her friend. Himeko had stayed with her aunt for most of her life, because she had no idea where her parents were, so her aunt had taken her in and took care of her. Three months ago though, her aunt had taken ill, and was confined to the hospital, so Chikane had offered for her friend to share her own house, which was far too empty and lonely sometimes for her tastes. Himeko was hesitant at first, not wanting to be a burden on anyone, but soon gladly obliged Chikane's offer. Since then, the two girls had lived together in Chikane's house.

Her parents had moved to the city when she entered senior high school, but she had decided to stay in their old home and continue attending school in the more rural place she had grown up. Chikane made the point that she wanted to begin relying on herself and become a little more independent, so the Himemiya's agreed to let her stay. However, the true reason she didn't really want to leave was because of Himeko. She couldn't have possibly left her best friend and moved to the city without her, but she never admitted to it.

Now, Chikane was beginning to wonder if she had really made the right decision in offering Himeko to live with her, because she was currently facing a potential disaster. This "problem" had not _been_ a problem before then—but with Himeko sharing practically everything in her house with her save a bedroom—Chikane had started to become bothered by it. Her friend was no burden at all; she was more than helpful and of course they were best friends, so she didn't annoy her in the slightest. But instead of saying she was bothered by it, she was…getting bothered_._

Chikane tried to track down—to trace back to when she had started feeling this way towards her fair-haired friend—but she simply couldn't. She had always loved Himeko, because they were best friends ever since they were children. It didn't happen over one night, but rather, the love she had for her best friend had slowly but surely transmuted itself and mutated into something far greater than friendship over time. They even used to take baths together as children because they were so close; the thought of that to Chikane now was…not a good idea. In fact, to make the point of how bad an idea it was, Chikane's sub-conscious once again began to summon up its hallucinations of Himeko without her control. Chikane couldn't get her out of her mind. Everything eventually came back to her; trying to pay attention in classes turned into vibrant daydreams, and Himeko wandered angelically through her blissful thoughts; earnest studying developed into diverting flights of the imagination, and Himeko became her favorite subject; sports and student council work became paltry excuses to spare herself the discomfort of having to endure time spent with Himeko, all the while having to pretend that she wasn't secretly fantasizing in her subconscious. It made it all the worse when Himeko would notice the subtle detachment that Chikane forced on herself, and asked her what was wrong. Then Chikane would have to lie and say it was nothing. Either that or make up another excuse for acting so cold and distant, unlike the "best friend" she was supposed to be. It hadn't been this way when Himeko first moved in, but Chikane began to look at her in a different way. The ache was mounting steadily within her because of the confusing façade she was forced to put on, which was exactly the opposite of what she most wanted—but the more her mind rationalized and reasoned and argued against it, the harder that the deep-seated desires lurking beneath pressed against the walls she put up against them. It didn't stop there though. The nagging feelings during the day were bad enough, but it was easier to control the force of her conflicting feelings then.

Night was a different story altogether.

She would usually get home after Himeko because of her own activities after school but spend the whole journey in emotional turmoil. Getting ready for bed was a trial in itself. When she moved in, Chikane gave her friend one of her nightgowns to wear, a silky white evening dress, which unfortunately made Himeko even more alluring than she was already. Even after saying goodnight and lying down to sleep in her own room, Chikane was granted no refuge from her because the sweet, blonde-haired, violet-eyed temptress haunted even her dreams, the contents of which often left her feeling far too wound up to attain a restful night's sleep.

* * *

And so, having managed to clear her mind adequately enough to continue with her morning, the azure haired young woman took her school bag from its place next to the neat desk where she studied, and made her way through the house. She had student council work to do early that day, so she had to leave earlier than Himeko did, and she moved quietly to keep from inadvertently waking the girl up. Not that it was much real concern; Himeko, as cute as she was, slept like a rock. Chikane walked down the last stair and made her way to the front door. She slid it open deftly, and stepped out into the cooling October air, a gentle gust stroking her face as she did. Chikane took a deep breath of the calming wind, both to enjoy the beauty of natural scent of autumn, and to shake off any distressed nerves she had woken up with that morning. Her walk to school was mostly uneventful; she walked past the old playground that she and Himeko used to play on when they were young, but she did that everyday anyway. She always had fond memories of those days when they were carefree and always happy with each other's company. When she had turned the corner down another street and the playground was out of view, Chikane was suddenly struck by the familiar sensation. That morning…her alarm clock had woken her up, but wasn't she having some sort of dream? Something possibly related to her childhood…well it was just a dream anyway. She continued on her typical path, said good morning to the old woman that swept the front step of her little bread shop every morning, and before she knew it, she was at the gate to her high school, and continued to the council room.

* * *

Himeko woke up to the ever-despised noise of her own alarm clock ringing obnoxiously at her bedside. The blonde's eyelids twitched in protest of being woken up, and she made a tired groan at the unwelcome disturbance and rolled over under her sheets. Unfortunately, the noise wasn't going to stop itself, so after failing to drown out the hideous sound, Himeko reluctantly threw the covers down from over her and sat up, at the same time pressing the alarm off. "Ooooh, whoever invented mornings was a meanie…" she grumbled to herself, rubbing the sleep out of one eye." After a couple of moments of mentally preparing herself, she got dressed in her school uniform, and gathered all the things she needed for school. When she was finally done, she took one last look in the large mirror that hung on the wall in her room, adjusted the ever-present blue ribbon into a neater bow, and smiled content with her work. She drank a glass of juice on her way out the door, and slipped her shoes on. But then she made a little pout to herself; it always made her just a little sad when she noticed her shoes were the only pair by the door in the morning, as Chikane had often already left. Himeko sighed quietly to herself. She enjoyed when they could walk to school together, especially when the weather was supposed to be nice like today's forecast. _"We actually haven't gone together in a while…Chikane always seems to be busy with something…or maybe she's avoiding me for some reason? Maybe I really am a bother to her now; after all I do spend most of my free time with her. Maybe I'm—no, Chikane would never think that. We're best friends after all. But still, she does seem sort of distant lately…I'll talk to her and cheer her up later!" _Sliding open the door, she made her way to school alone, but with a pleased feeling and a small mission to aid her best friend's mood.

Make Peace

/Souji/


	3. Chapter 3

**_"How can I sleep knowing you'll be inside my dreams? _**

**_How can I wake knowing you'll be outside of them as well..."_**

Himeko began her walk to school with the thought still in her head.

_Chikane is acting strangely lately…I'm sure of it. But what could be wrong? Maybe she's sick? No…maybe…maybe she's had too much work for the student council. Yeah! That makes sense, she always comes home so late nowadays because of all the responsibilities she takes on at school, and that's why we don't have as much time together. _

Himeko was satisfied with her own explanation of her friend's mood, and let that feeling comfort her. However, a nagging, discomfiting notion was constantly edging on the corners of her mind; making her wonder if in fact she was some part of the reason for Chikane's seemingly distant attitude.

_It—it's definitely not me…of course it isn't. We're best friends…Chikane is…my friend._

Looking up into the endless October sky, swirled in blue and white, the blond took a deep breath of the smooth air. She had actually woken up on time with her alarm today so she was in little hurry to get to school. She had plenty of time. Unfortunately, this made her feel less relieved than it should. Himeko had always had a habit of sleeping in and ignoring her alarm clock's hateful ringing in the morning. It used to be that she would simply not use one, because she hated waking up to the noise. Back then, and without fail, Chikane would gently tap on her door, and call her name to see if she was awake. Oftentimes she was already in fact slightly awake due to the sun's early light through her window, so she would hear Chikane's voice, but she simply pretended not to, in order to catch a few more minutes of rest. Then, the raven haired beauty would slowly and silently open the door, and coo Himeko's name in a soft, sweet voice. It was a much nicer way to begin a morning than an annoying clock. But those days seemed to have gone.

For a while now, Chikane no longer came to wake her up in the gentle fashion she used to. It started one day a number of months ago, after classes had let out; Himeko had just caught up to Chikane to walk home together. They hadn't walked to school that morning because she had slept in late, and Chikane had not come in to wake her up as she typically did. When she had caught up with her best friend, she playfully pouted at her for not having woken her up that morning, and blamed Chikane for her being late. But of course she didn't really mean it that way. She didn't really expect it to be Chikane's responsibility to wake her up every morning, but she had just become accustomed to it because her friend had taken it upon herself to do it. However, as she was waiting for Chikane to give her a playful lecture on the importance of punctuality, the other girl had simply lowered her eyes, and quietly responded that she should be more mature and wake up on her own. She hadn't said it accusingly, or even unkindly, but it was so strange to hear her friend talk like that. Something had definitely been bothering her. So since then, Himeko had been using her accursed alarm clock to make sure she was on time in the mornings.

Himeko wasn't sure if there really was something wrong that Chikane just hadn't told her about, or if it was just her own childishness that made Chikane act so differently lately. She continued her walk to school in deep thought, bypassing the colors of the trees, the wind in the air, and the world around her, ignoring the wonders of the day. She passed by an old playground, and a bread shop, and before she knew it, she was at school.

The morning passed uneventfully for Himeko, more over because she didn't see Chikane through the entirety of the day so far, but her spirits returned to her as soon as the bell rang for lunch. She had been paying only half of her attention to the lesson that was going on in class when she heard the bell signal its completion, but her ears perked up immediately to the sound, and the corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile. Lunch time was the only period during school that she was certain to be able to spend with Chikane. For a while now, it seemed like she would see less and less of her best friend during the day at school, but despite this, the blue haired girl never failed to make it to their secret meeting place for lunch. The rose garden was situated around an old-looking tree on the school grounds, but nobody came around that part of the school very much anymore, especially not at lunchtime, so it became the perfect spot for the girls to relax in each others company for a bit each day. Himeko made her way down and out of the building towards the rose garden, recalling her intent from earlier that morning.

_I have to cheer Chikane up! She's seemed so stressed lately, so I'll make sure that she feels better today._

Himeko finally arrived at the secluded garden after a couple of minutes, and carefully entered through the wall of hedges that surrounded it. Looking up she saw that her beautiful friend was already there, resting calmly against the base of the ancient tree trunk with some tea at her side. Himeko was about to greet her friend cheerfully, but she realized before she did that Chikane's eyes were closed.

_"Chikane would have said something if she heard me and noticed I was here, so she must be sleeping," the blonde mused. _

Himeko wondered if perhaps her friend had not slept well the night before. Then with another thought in her head, she crept slowly up along next to the azure haired beauty and decided to check if she was in fact asleep. She sat down slowly next to Chikane, on the opposite side from her tea, making as little noise as she could. As she knelt down and folded her legs slowly beneath her, Himeko caught the scent of Chikane's perfume on the afternoon wind. The breeze lifted the comforting aroma pleasantly around her, and the warm pressure of the air brushed her skin softly. Both of these sensations invaded her senses and Himeko felt the strangest reminiscence of something. Something nostalgic; something that could have happened years ago, or lifetimes ago. For just a bit, Himeko sat next to the girl sleeping beside her, and tilted her head back against the firm and earthen trunk of the think tree, trying to capture the sun's gossamer beams flitting between its profound branches, and keep a hold of the feeling for as long as she could. She closed her eyes briefly, as if taking a long blink, then leaned back to look once again upon her napping friend. Himeko smiled to herself; a tiny little smile, the kind which you try to hide even though nobody can see it.

_"Chikane sure is beautiful…" Himeko thought passively. _

Although some of her opinion came from being her best friend, nobody would argue with the girl's thoughts for even a moment. Himemiya Chikane was near as flawless as one could imagine a girl her age to be, from her appearance and physical abilities, to her regal and graceful demeanor. Himemiya Chikane was an idol to the school, and everyone knew her and would admire her, but would do so from afar, as if she were some sort of creature that needed space to be observed.

_"Chikane is_ _smart and studious, and she scores top ranks in her classes, and she is never late for school, unlike me. On top of that she's athletic, and responsible, and everyone loves her. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have had her as my best friend for all this time. She could have been friends with anyone… I'm just…ordinary…" _she reflecting in her mind.

_"I'm just living with her, and she takes care of me all the time, but I feel like I can never give her anything in return—what could she possible need from me…I'm just a plain girl…and Chikane is so nice…and generous…and beautiful…"_

Himeko mulled these thoughts through her heart as she sat still looking at the girl's face. Her mood mellowed momentarily while she had been pondering all of this, but as soon as she came back to herself, she smiled again with a new feeling.

_"Well that's alright, Chikane and I are best friends, so I'm sure I'll think of something to do for her! In the mean time, I can wake her and try to help her to cheer up. She seemed to be kind of down lately…I wonder why…"_

* * *

The blonde lifted her hand to move a rogue strand of hair that the breeze had blown onto the sleeping girl's face, and her finger grazed her cheek softly. Chikane stirred in her slumber, causing the blonde to repress a giggle. She tried calling her friend's name gently, to see if she could rouse her without too much of a disturbance.

"Chikane-chan…" she whispered.

A small twitch from the girl's eyes, and a tired inhale.

"Hey Chikane-chan, wake up…-noon already…to wake u-…"

Chikane could her something from her state of semi-consciousness. As her mind slowly recharged into a waking state, the slumbering visions she was watching fogged her thoughts and senses. Her eyes remained shut in protest of a sunbeam forcing its way down onto her face, and all she could hear were vague words being spoken from somewhere near, but seemingly far away. She slowly attempted to open her eyes in spite of the brightness being cast upon them, but her efforts struggled and the girl could only just flutter her eyelids barely open. The fact of the matter was her last night had not been a restful one; a certain blonde-haired-blue-bowed beauty had seen to that. However, with her emotions lulled out of their typical vigilance from her nap, many of the delightful thoughts and images from last night came flowing into her half-awakened consciousness without restraint. Chikane couldn't help but want to ignore whatever part of the world was trying to wake her up, and simply meander in the company of her daydreams a while longer. No, she needed a bit more motivation than that to wake up and leave her fantasies at the moment, so she decided to continue her nap.

And suddenly without warning, that motivation pressed its tender lips against the cool skin of her cheek in the form of a quick peck.

"Chikane-chan!"

Static was on her skin.

But as suddenly as the sensation had come, it was gone from her flesh. It did last long enough though, to ensure one thing.

Chikane Himemiya was awake now. Wide. Awake.

* * *

The raven haired girl felt herself being fetched out of her suggestive daydreams by an unmistakable impression on her cheek. It felt like fire. Her eyes snapped open with a start, and she quickly brought her fingertips to the side of her face, trying to make sure that her flesh was not burnt. Chikane turned her head to look at the perpetrator, who was smiling at her innocently, as if she had not just done what she did. She simply stared, and made a quick inhale. Chikane didn't know what to say at first; she was still sort of in a stupor from just that small peck on the cheek. All she could do was stare at the blonde's beaming face with her own mouth parted mutely in search of words, and her fingers still resting over the place the girl's lips had made contact. The skin of her cheek left a tingling sensation that Chikane had trouble ignoring.

Himeko noted her friend's expressions as she reacted to being woken up. She didn't think that it was all that strange for friends to do things like that, right? It was just a simple act of affection...to help wake her up. However, judging by Chikane's face, and her unusual speechlessness, she realized that maybe Chikane just wasn't used to having that kind of contact casually made with her. Himeko glanced sidelong at the ground, trying to avoid Chikane's quiet stare, and began trying to think of some way to remedy the awkwardness of the situation.

"Um, Chikane–chan I just…that is I…" she tried to stutter out a simple explanation, but she was becoming embarrassed by Chikane's gazing at her face so intently. Then Himeko suddenly burst out—

"I was trying to wake you up-but you seemed so peaceful so I thought maybe not-but I just thought you've been kind of distant lately-so I wanted to cheer you up-so I thought you wouldn't mind-but I thought that maybe I could-but I'm sorry if I startled you-I just thought you were so cute sleeping there so I…just…did it…"

Himeko's mouth clamped shut and her face began tinting to a bashful pink.

_"W-what did I just say?" _she implored the part of herself that had let the words slip out. She had been rambling out an explanation with all the intention of diffusing the tension but had just made things slightly more embarrassing for herself by saying those last words…


End file.
